The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was founded in 1932 as an absolute monarchy ruled by the House of Saud. It is the 12th largest country in the world and home to Islam's two holiest cities of Mecca and Medina. Saudi is the world's second-largest oil producer and has a high-income economy. Approximately 51% of its population of 34.6 million is under 25 years old. Those who come to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ face extreme pressure.
Country Stats
Capital City: Riyadh
Government: Unitary Islamic absolute monarchy
Major People Groups: 90% Arab, 10% Afro-Arab
Population: 32,175,224
Religion: 94% Muslim, 4% Christian (expatriates), 1% Hindu, 1% unaffiliated/other
Government: Unitary Islamic absolute monarchy
Major People Groups: 90% Arab, 10% Afro-Arab
Population: 32,175,224
Religion: 94% Muslim, 4% Christian (expatriates), 1% Hindu, 1% unaffiliated/other
The testimony of a persecuted brother:
To my beloved brothers and sisters in Christ:
May the Lord's grace and peace be with you all. I’m writing today not from a place of coldness, but from the depth of my wounds, from the depth of the pain I’ve experienced after I said, "Yes, Jesus, I am yours. "And I not writing to complain, but to bear witness, to testify of a God who does not hold back, who does not betray.
After I became confident in Jesus, I began to change, not toward ease, but toward truth. I lost my job and was fired because I did not hide my faith. I was unjustly imprisoned, tortured, and humiliated. Afterward, they committed me to a psychiatric hospital, where they wanted to extinguish my light, to cast doubt on my faith, and to silence my voice.
They did not know that the Lord Himself said: "Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 10:5) and that for Christ, all is not loss, but glory. And in my weakest moments, in my prison cell, in my solitude, in the hospital, I was not alone. I saw him: He put the New Covenant in me and gave life to my soul. I felt his voice, Jesus; He lifted me up in his arms. This is what matters to me every day: "I am with you, and I am completing the work I began in you."
I know that the world may reject me, and my family may hate me, and I’m experiencing what I never dreamed of: a love that cannot be bought, a peace that hearts cannot understand, anda hope that cannot be broken.
You, my brothers and sisters in Christ, were the light in the midst of this night. Your prayers are my support, your foundationis the comfort of my soul. Please, don't stop praying for me. I pray to God with everything in me, that He may lead you so that there may be one body… the body of Christ. With all the tears of faith, your brother who suffered… but chose to choose Jesus.
To my beloved brothers and sisters in Christ:
May the Lord's grace and peace be with you all. I’m writing today not from a place of coldness, but from the depth of my wounds, from the depth of the pain I’ve experienced after I said, "Yes, Jesus, I am yours. "And I not writing to complain, but to bear witness, to testify of a God who does not hold back, who does not betray.
After I became confident in Jesus, I began to change, not toward ease, but toward truth. I lost my job and was fired because I did not hide my faith. I was unjustly imprisoned, tortured, and humiliated. Afterward, they committed me to a psychiatric hospital, where they wanted to extinguish my light, to cast doubt on my faith, and to silence my voice.
They did not know that the Lord Himself said: "Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 10:5) and that for Christ, all is not loss, but glory. And in my weakest moments, in my prison cell, in my solitude, in the hospital, I was not alone. I saw him: He put the New Covenant in me and gave life to my soul. I felt his voice, Jesus; He lifted me up in his arms. This is what matters to me every day: "I am with you, and I am completing the work I began in you."
I know that the world may reject me, and my family may hate me, and I’m experiencing what I never dreamed of: a love that cannot be bought, a peace that hearts cannot understand, anda hope that cannot be broken.
You, my brothers and sisters in Christ, were the light in the midst of this night. Your prayers are my support, your foundationis the comfort of my soul. Please, don't stop praying for me. I pray to God with everything in me, that He may lead you so that there may be one body… the body of Christ. With all the tears of faith, your brother who suffered… but chose to choose Jesus.
How to Pray
- Praise God for those Saudis who have come to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
- Pray that the Lord will preserve the faith of our Saudi brothers and sisters, especially those facing persecution
- Pray that the Holy Spirit would prepare the hearts of Saudi people to repent and believe in the Lord Jesus.
- Pray that many will come to faith through the faithful witness of courageous believers.
